


Retreat

by SailorChibi



Series: Writer's AU [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Writers, Avengers as family, Domestic Avengers, First Date, M/M, Much to his dismay, Slice of Life, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Team as Family, Tony Stark has Anxiety, Tony Stark is Peter Parker's dad, Writer's Block, Writer's retreat, being a published writer is even harder, clint barton as a cheesy gay erotica writer, natasha romanov as a spy writer, not sure how that snuck in there oops, steve rogers as a one hit wonder, steve rogers is in way over his head, thor as a fantasy writer, tony stark as a sci fi writer, tony stark gets in his own head too much, tony stark has self esteem issues, writers being supportive of each other, writing is hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-05-16 05:19:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19311430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorChibi/pseuds/SailorChibi
Summary: Frustrated with his work to the point of giving up entirely, Tony lets Rhodey talk him into attending a writer's retreat put on by none other than Steve Rogers. Tony's not sure he'll come out of the retreat with fresh ideas, but he might just come out of it with a hot blond boyfriend. That's good enough for Tony.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A commission that hits near and dear to my heart: struggling writers AU FTW.

When Tony saw the cabin, he seriously considered turning the car around and driving back home. Only the knowledge that he’d be facing the combined disappointment of Rhodey, Pepper, Happy _and_ Peter kept him moving forward. He came to a stop right in front of the cabin and leaned forward, peering at it through the windshield. His jaw tightened as he watched a loose board on the porch bang in the wind.

Maybe he’d gotten the address wrong – but no, a quick check in his phone showed that he was in the right place. This was the writer’s retreat according to Rhodey. And while Rhodey could be a jackass sometimes, there was no way he would risk joking about something like this. Tony’s writing career was in danger of going in the toilet if they didn’t do something, and this was Rhodey’s last resort.

Someone beeped a horn behind him. Tony jumped and glanced in the rear view mirror. A man was gesturing at him to get out of the way. Oops. He gave an apologetic wave and took his foot of the brake, guiding the car further over into an actual parking space. The guy behind him, driving a car that was considerably more beat up than Tony’s, parked beside him.

“You can do this, Stark,” Tony muttered to himself. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, then opened the car door and got out. The smell of nature hit him in the face and he grimaced. Give him city smog over fresh country air any day.

“Uh, this is the writer’s retreat, right?” the guy in the car beside him asked.

“As far as I can tell,” Tony said.

The guy got out of his car and held a hand out. “Bruce.”

“Tony,” Tony said, shaking Bruce’s hand briefly. “Sorry about that. I was checking to make sure I was in the right place.”

Bruce smiled. “Can’t blame you for that. I was expecting something a little more…” He trailed off, shrugging, but Tony knew exactly what he meant.

When Rhodey had heard about the fact that Steve Rogers was putting on a writing retreat, he’d jumped at the chance to convince Tony to go. Rogers had written an incredible bestseller three years ago that topped every chart that Tony could think of. Tony had adored the book; it had been released at a time when he was struggling with his own work, and Rogers’ work had helped to get Tony back on track. 

He was hoping that being here and talking to Rogers might spark something again. Actually, they were all hoping for that. Pepper had literally given him as much leeway as she could. If Tony didn’t have a new draft ready by the end of the year, he was going to be in breach of contract. So he had exactly four and a half months to come up with a brilliant new masterpiece that would blow everyone away and make them all think that the extra year’s wait had been worthwhile.

No pressure.

“Well, maybe it looks better on the inside,” Tony said optimistically. He opened the back door of his car and took his suitcase and shoulderbag out. Bruce, he noticed, was traveling with just a small duffel bag. Bruce noticed his glance and shrugged, smiling.

“My wife packed for me,” he said, gesturing to the bag. “I swear, she’s magic when it comes to making big things fit in small places.”

“That’s what she said,” Tony muttered under his breath, but Bruce heard and laughed. Tony beamed at him. Perhaps this retreat wasn’t going to be a complete disaster after all.

They walked back across the parking lot to the main entrance. Tony eyed the front steps again. He could see another three boards that were loosening. Did Rogers own this cabin or was he just renting it? If he owned it, maybe he’d knock a couple hundred bucks off the admission price if Tony offered to fix a few things. Just at a glance, he could see at least four or five things that wouldn’t take too long to improve.

Bruce went up the steps first, apparently oblivious to their bad shape, and Tony followed once he was sure the steps would hold. The inside of the cabin was a little nicer, but not by much. But they could hear the sounds of conversation at least, and they followed that into a small room just off the main one. Three men and a woman all turned to look at them when Tony nudged the door open.

“Oh, hey! Hey, glad you found us.” A big blond guy jumped up. Steve Rogers, Tony realized, feeling his face warming up already.

This was going to be bad. So bad. 

“Bruce,” Bruce said, holding a hand out to Steve. Steve shook it enthusiastically, then turned a smile on Tony. And _wow_ – suddenly Tony’s knees were feeling a little weak. He took Steve’s hand, shaking it automatically. He thought he said his name. He honestly couldn’t be sure.

“Now that we’re all here, I guess we can begin,” Steve said, moving back to his seat. “Take a seat wherever you want, guys.”

Bruce sat next to the other big blond guy. That left the only open seat beside Steve. Tony swallowed and slowly took it, hoping that he looked much more composed than he felt. No one was looking at him strangely, so maybe he’d been lucky. He sat stiffly and pasted on his media smile as he glanced at the other two guests. The last guy was short, though not as short as Tony, with dark hair, while the woman beside him had red hair and was wearing a pair of killer heels that immediately made Tony wary of fucking with her. She smiled at him in a way that left Tony feeling a little nervous.

“I’m Clint,” said the dark-haired guy. “And this is Natasha.”

“I’m Thor,” said the other blond guy. He beamed at Tony like he’d never been happier to be anywhere. Tony smiled hesitantly back.

“So,” Steve said, clapping his hands, “I, uh, guess we’ll start by having everyone say what they write about and what their problem is. Who wants to start?”

Tony thought it was a little unusual that Steve wasn’t starting off to break the ice. But then, they all knew who Steve was already – or at least, he assumed that the others had done some research into the person who was putting on the retreat. And that meant they all knew why Steve was here. He was, as the talk shows and newspaper so kindly called him, a one hit wonder.

Finally, Thor raised a hand. “I’ll go,” he said. “My full name is Thor Foster, but my pen name is Thor Odinson.”

“I know you! You write fantasy novels,” said Clint.

Thor’s face immediately fell. “Yes, that’s what everyone tells me. But that was never my intent. I wanted to write history books, but _interesting_ history books.” He looked around at their blank expressions and added, “History is so much more than boring men sitting around having boring conversations. I wanted to show people that history was full of life. But as soon as you attempt to write anything that’s not dry facts, you’re immediately relegated to fantasy and people don’t take you seriously.”

“That’s awful,” Bruce said sympathetically, and everyone else nodded in agreement.

“It’s very frustrating,” Thor said sadly. “Jane and I have done a lot of research into the battles of Asgard. I feel like I’ve let her down by writing the books in such a way.”

There was an awkward pause, and then Steve jumped a little and said quickly, “I’m sure that’s not the case, Thor. Um… Bruce, how about you?”

Bruce looked caught off guard, but answered readily. “I’m Bruce Banner, no pen name. I write books for teens, but my publisher really wants me to start expanding into the kid market. They think I can do it, but every time I try I’m just…” He waved his hands. “Kids are so different from teen or even adult markets. They’re fragile; they need different things. My ideas are all stupid or ridiculously campy.”

“So don’t do it. Stick to the teen market,” said Clint.

“I’ve thought about that, but it feels like giving up,” Bruce said, sighing.

Steve nodded. “Clint? Natasha?”

Natasha’s voice was lightly accented. She said, “I was offered a deal for five books, but only if I created a male lead later on.” Her mouth tightened and she tipped her chin up. “That’s where Clint comes in.”

Clint wiggled his fingers in greeting. “I write an officially sanctioned spin-off to Natasha’s books that focus on a male lead. I also write the cheesiest gay erotica you could imagine. It’s easy money, but the fan bases are _very_ different and it can be a real pain in the ass.”

“They say that my books are not appealing enough to men,” Natasha said. “I write spy books. There is plenty of violence and sex, but because my leads are woman they’re not appealing?!” She sounded outraged and she was staring right at Tony. He shrank back in his seat. 

“That’s rough,” Steve said, frowning. “Tony? Why are you here?”

Tony cleared his throat, relieved when Natasha looked away. “Um, I’m just… I write sci-fi, urban fantasy sort of books… but I’m having trouble with my side plots. The main plot is easy. It’s all the other crap I get hung up on. It’s just… it’s not perfect.”

“Nothing is perfect,” Clint pointed out.

“Well my writing should be,” Tony said. Logically, he knew that it sounded dumb. Pepper, Rhodey, Peter – they’d all repeatedly pointed out to him that he was expecting way too much of himself. But Tony couldn’t turn it off. It had been engrained in him at a young age that everything he did had to be perfect. And he hated the fact that he couldn’t seem to shake that.

“I know that feeling,” Steve said, almost more to himself than to anyone else, and immediately all eyes swung in his direction.

“So why are you here, Steve?” Natasha asked, narrowing her eyes.

Steve’s eyes widened. “Uh – I’m running this retreat?”

“You’re not having any problems at all?” she said skeptically. 

“Well…” Steve trailed off, glanced around at them, and hung his head. “Yeah, okay. I’m sure you all know that I wrote one novel once. It was incredibly popular… and I think that’s the problem. People made it into something that it’s not. I wanted to write with a specific message in mind, and that’s not how my words got interpreted. It bothers me.”

“You can’t control how people think,” Thor said glumly.

“No, but the thought of writing something again and having the same thing happen… I don’t like it.” Steve shrugged and sighed. “I guess… I’d like to find a way to move past that. Because I do like writing. It was really fun. And I loved getting fan mail from people who told me that my work changed their lives for the better.”

Tony had to smile at that. “Fan mail can be really nice. That’s how I got my kid.”

“What?!” It came from everywhere, which was a reaction Tony was fully expecting. He chuckled.

“Peter was the son of some old friends of mine,” he explained. “I didn’t know it, but his father used to read Peter my stuff every night before bed. He fell in love with my work, and learned all about me from his parents. When his parents passed away, I was one of the people named in their will as a potential guardian for Peter. He insisted on me. I couldn’t say no.”

“Wow,” Clint said. “So you’ve got a kid. How old?”

“He’s eight,” Tony replied. “Got him when he was six.” It had been rough a couple years, which Tony had to admit had probably contributed to his writing problems. But things were finally smoothing out now, and he and Peter had fallen into a comfortable rhythm, so it was time to focus back on his craft.

“Maybe your problem is sleep deprivation. Kids are hard work,” Bruce said.

Tony shrugged. “Could be. But honestly, I’ve had this issue since day one. My editor tells me I get inside my head and can’t get out. So.” He turned to Steve. “I’m ready for you to fix me.”

He was pretty sure it wasn’t his imagination that Steve looked incredibly panicked at that. This retreat was definitely going to be interesting.


	2. Chapter 2

“I’m in so far over my head, I don’t know what to do. I really think this was a mistake. Maybe I should just cancel and send everyone home, I –”

“Stevie, breathe.” Even over the phone, Bucky sounded incredibly amused. Steve turned and glared at his phone, which was sitting on the edge of his bed while he paced around and ranted. Knowing Bucky, he was probably sitting in front of the television with his feet up and a cold beer in hand. 

“I am breathing. I’m fine,” Steve said.

“Riiiiiight,” Bucky drawled.

Steve’s glower deepened. “You could help me. You’re supposed to be my editor.”

“I am your editor, and I am helping. Spending time with other writers is exactly what you need right now,” Bucky said knowingly. “You said you wanted to figure out how to make writing fun again. Well, the answer to that is not spending hours cooped up in your tiny apartment until you get so frustrated you throw your computer at the wall. Again.”

“That was one time!” Steve complained. He’d gotten pissed off at finding quotes of his work splashed across some neo-nazi website. He had immediately contacted his lawyer and the quotes had been removed, but just knowing that it had happened made his skin crawl. 

“It was one time too many,” Bucky countered. “Seriously, some of those other writers must have dealt with the same problem. I’m sure one of them can help.”

“They don’t want to help me. They want _me_ to help _them_ ,” Steve said with despair, sinking down onto the bed. 

“You can all help each other,” Bucky said soothingly. “You can’t cancel now. You don’t have the money to pay for that cabin if you don’t follow through with the retreat. You need all five of them to stay for the full week.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” Steve rubbed a hand over his face and sighed. Bucky was right. Steve knew that, much as he hated to admit it. There was a reason he’d agreed to host this retreat in the first place. The problem was, Steve didn’t know how to fix anyone’s problems. He couldn’t even fix his own. He was terrified of making everything worse and having Bruce, Thor, Natasha, Clint and Tony come after him with pitchforks.

 _Especially_ Tony. His mouth got a bit dry just thinking about Tony’s smile when he talked about his son. There was something very unfair about a gorgeous single dad who genuinely loved his kid. Or at least, Steve assumed that Tony was single. Maybe ‘hoped’ was the better word for it. Because Steve just happened to be _very_ single and, maybe, very interested.

“Steve? Are you still there?” Bucky said.

“Er, yeah, I’m here,” Steve said, snapping out of a daydream where Tony was smiling that way at _him_.

“Just do the best you can, punk. No one is expecting you to solve all of their problems. Even if all you do is give them a place to air their grievances, that’s more than they would’ve gotten otherwise,” Bucky told him, sounding entirely too reasonable. “Look over the exercises Sam sent you. There’s gotta be something halfway worthwhile in there.”

“Yeah, okay,” Steve said. It was just after 10am, so he knew he had to go. He said his goodbye to Bucky and grabbed his phone, sliding it into his pocket. His heart was pounding as he went to the door of his room and opened it. 

A low buzz of conversation greeted him as he wandered towards the dining room. He and Bucky had stocked the place with food, and Steve had made it clear to those that signed up that meals would be of the ‘make your own’ variety. There was no way he could afford to hire a cook for the whole week. He noticed that almost everyone had gone with cereal, with the exception of Thor who was having toast.

“Good morning,” Tony said, smiling over a cup of coffee, and Steve’s stomach fluttered.

“Hi,” he said, hoping he didn’t sound as nervous as he felt. He sat between Natasha and Bruce and cleared his throat. “So, uh, today I thought we’d start by pairing off and getting a fresh perspective on our problems. I made up the pairs last night. It’s gonna be Bruce and Clint, Natasha and Thor, and me and Tony.”

“Sounds good to me,” Clint said, tossing back the rest of his orange juice.

Thor smiled at Natasha. “I’ve never had a female protagonist before.”

“Get ready to have your world rocked,” Natasha said with a smirk. She and Thor stood up and went outside. Clint and Bruce opted for the same small room where their group had met before.

That left Steve with Tony. He poured himself a bowl of cereal, hoping that his nerves weren’t as obvious as he thought they might be, and looked over at Tony to see what was going on. But Tony was just sitting there, eyes closed, breathing in the scent of coffee as he took small sips. Steve hated to interrupt such a peaceful sight, so instead he concentrated on wolfing down his breakfast.

“Sorry,” Tony said suddenly, just as Steve was nearly done. “I have a thing about coffee in the morning. I don’t function without it.”

“That must be tough with a kid. Does your wife get Peter ready?” Steve asked innocently.

Tony looked amused. “No wife or girlfriend. It’s just me and Pete. Luckily, he’s pretty self-sufficient already. All I have to do is be there to kiss him goodbye, and he’s started ducking away when I do that.”

“Kids,” Steve said, trying to hide how happy that information made him. No girlfriend and no wife? Jackpot.

“Kids,” Tony agreed with a nod. “So what’re we talking about?”

“Uh… well…” Steve almost dropped his spoon at the sudden change in topic. He caught it just in time, and blurted out, “To be honest, I’m not really sure. We can talk about your book if you want. I promise to give my full opinion about your side plots. Maybe we can work out why you’re feeling that way.”

Tony shrugged. “I’m just a perfectionist, honestly,” he said. “It’s dumb. I recognize that there’ll always be things I want to change about my work, but I can’t shake the feeling that it could always be better. Did you ever get that?”

“Not really,” Steve said slowly. “I didn’t even know my book was going to become as popular as it did. It was a surprise to me, actually. A good surprise, of course, but still. I guess I wasn’t prepared for what would happen after.”

“Life would be much easier if we could control how people reacted to stuff,” Tony said knowingly, and Steve chuckled.

“There is that. But it’s like Thor said, I can’t control how people think. And frankly, I don’t want to. I love hearing the different ways that people interpret stuff. Some of it is really fascinating. It’s the negative stuff I have a hard time wrapping my head around. I don’t like my stuff being used to further someone’s crusade.” Steve ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

“But you said it yourself, you weren’t prepared last time. Now you know what could happen,” Tony pointed out. “Does that make a difference?”

Steve thought about that for a moment. “I don’t know. Maybe? At the very least, I’d be more prepared for some of the fan mail.”

Tony snorted and grinned. “I bet you get a lot of sexy fan mail,” he said teasingly.

“I – I do not!” Steve said, feeling his face grow hot. The truth was, he’d gotten some… _interesting_ packages from both men and women. Bucky had laughed himself sick the first time Steve opened up a box that contained three pairs of women’s underwear, a vibrator, a bottle of lube, and a handwritten invitation. He’d learned pretty quickly that there was a reason famous people hired someone else to go through their mail.

“You totally do!” Tony said, laughing. “Honestly, Steve, I think you should just go for it. If you can write another brilliant novel, you should. You touched way more people in a positive way than you could imagine. Focus on them. They’re your audience. Ignore the rest. People are gonna be assholes, but that shouldn’t stop you from writing what you want to write. As my best friend tells me, you’re the only who can write the story in your brain. Though he usually says that to me when I’m whining about not being able to invent a machine to take a story straight from my brain to the page with no work on my part –”

“You thought my novel was brilliant?” Steve couldn’t help interrupting.

“That’s what you got from my inspiring speech?” Tony said, raising an eyebrow.

“I heard all of it,” Steve said quickly, blushing again. “And you’re right. Bucky’s told me the same thing.”

“Bucky? Your boyfriend?” Tony asked.

Steve shook his head. “No, my editor. I’m single.”

“Oh. Me too,” Tony said.

There was an awkward moment during which they both looked at each other. Steve wasn’t sure what to say or do. He didn’t really know Tony. He knew that Tony was cute and that he had a son and that he wrote good books, but that was it. And Tony didn’t know him. But Steve wanted him to, and he wanted to get to know Tony too. He just… wasn’t sure how to make that happen.

Finally, Steve cleared his throat. “We were supposed to be taking about your work, not mine,” he said.

“What? Oh, right! Right. Uh, have you read my stuff before?” Tony asked.

“I’ve read your main series. I haven’t gotten the chance to read your other stuff,” Steve said. He’d stumbled across Tony Stark’s work a couple of years ago. Peggy had actually been the one to introduce him, saying Tony’s Iron Man series would be right up Steve’s alley. And she was right, but Steve didn’t always have a lot of spare time to read. Still, he’d made his way through the Iron Man books and had just finished the most recent one before the workshop began.

“That’s what I’m working on now. Book number seven. Lucky seven.” Tony sighed and shook his head. “Or so it’s supposed to be. I have my doubts.”

“What’s it about?” Steve asked eagerly. Maybe too eagerly.

Tony shot him an amused look. “Mr. Rogers, are you a fan of my work?”

“Um… maybe?” Steve said with a sheepish smile. “You’re a good writer. It’s not very often that you find someone who can actually understand the science behind what they write. I can tell that you do, and it’s refreshing.”

“Thanks,” Tony said with a small smile. “Well, book seven is about Iron Man getting some much-needed rest after book six. Or at least, that’s how it starts off. I’m about halfway through now. My plan was to bring in a sidekick for Iron Man.”

“Really?” Steve sat forward with interest. “A woman?” He knew that Tony had faced some criticism for his lack of female characters in his earlier work. Starting with book four, Iron Man sometimes teamed up with two characters called Rescue and Siren, both of whom were female and wore armor similar to Iron Man. He’d also ended up in a long-term relationship with his assistant, a woman called Salt, who many suspected was Rescue. Tony had yet to confirm the rumors.

“No. Peter, actually. I wanted to surprise him by writing a character based on him into the books,” Tony admitted. “He loves spiders, so I was thinking of Spider-Man.”

Steve’s heart warmed. “That’s adorable.”

Tony smiled again. “Thanks. And I was also thinking about revealing who Rescue and Siren were at the end.”

“Who are they?!” Steve blurted out, and Tony burst out laughing.

“That’s private information. Are you sure I can trust you?” he asked, eyes twinkling.

“Cross my heart, I won’t tell anyone,” Steve swore.

“Oh my god, you actually crossed your heart. That’s – ” Tony shook his head. “Okay. Salt is Rescue, and Siren is Natalia.”

“I knew it!” Steve shouted, jumping to his feet. “Bucky is going to be so pissed. He was completely convinced that Siren is Riri.”

“What?” Tony exclaimed. “No way! Riri is like a daughter to Iron Man. And she’s too young.”

“She’s eighteen,” Steve pointed out. “How old were you planning on making Peter’s character?”

Tony opened his mouth, then paused. A calculating look crossed his face. “That’s a good point,” he muttered, more to himself than Steve, and promptly whipped out his phone. He began typing notes into it, seemingly forgetting all about Steve and their conversation. But that was okay. Steve didn’t mind. It was worth it just to be able to watch the intense look on Tony’s face as his fingers flew over the keys.


	3. Chapter 3

“So it sounds like you’re doing well,” Rhodey said. 

“As well as can be,” Tony replied, draping his towel around his neck. It was Wednesday and hot as fuck. The six of them had unanimously decided to finish of the day’s session with a dip in the nearby lake. No sooner had Tony gone to his room to get changed into his suit than Rhodey had called to see how he was doing. 

“Do you think you’ll be able to keep writing when you come home?”

Tony thought about Monday’s session. Talking to Steve had _really_ helped and given Tony that final piece he needed to make his next book work out the way he wanted it to. He was dropping a romantic sideplot in favor of another plot where Iron Man’s foster daughter received a suit of her very own. He was certain that it was going to go over very well with fans.

He’d spent some time yesterday talking with Natasha. She had a lot of insights about female characters. In return, Tony thought he’d given her some food for thought by encouraging her to include more male characters in her work. He thought that could be a decent compromise for her agent and publishing house, since she was completely set on keeping a female protagonist.

“I think I will,” he said at last. “I have some new ideas. I think this book will see Riri playing a bigger part. I’ve even been thinking about a spin-off book that centers completely around her, but I’d have to talk to Pepper about that first.” 

“That’s great,” Rhodey said, sounding genuinely pleased. “And how are the others doing? Good?”

“As far as I can tell. Some problems aren’t that easily fixed,” Tony said. There was really no advice that they could give Thor, short of telling him to scale back on the fantastical battles. And Thor wasn’t willing to do that. It seemed like Thor was more here looking for commiseration than anything, and that was something they could all give. Finding the balance between creativity and making your agent and editor happy was a fine line that all of them had had trouble with at one time or another.

“And how is Steve?” Rhodey was smirking, Tony could tell.

“Steve is fine,” Tony said, scowling at the phone.

“Just fine?”

“Just fine,” Tony repeated, glad Rhodey wasn’t there to see the blush that he was sure he was sporting right now. Honestly, Steve was more than fine. Tony wasn’t going to lie; one of the reasons he was so anxious to go swimming was because he wanted to see how amazing Steve looked in a swimsuit. 

Rhodey chuckled. “I hear he lives in New York. Not that far away from where you live, actually.”

“I’m hanging up now,” Tony said, walking towards the phone. “I’m not listening to this.”

“Come on, Tones! You need to start dating again. Ever since you and Pepper broke up, you haven’t dated anyone at all,” Rhodey said.

“I also have a kid now,” Tony pointed out.

“Peter won’t mind you dating and you know it. He wants you to be happy. We all do it. And if a partner would make you happy, Peter would be all over that. The only things holding you back is you,” Rhodey said knowingly. “Just think about it. One date isn’t a lifelong commitment.”

“Goodbye, Rhodey,” Tony said.

“Just think about it,” Rhodey said again.

Tony hit the end button to cut the call, shaking his head. He supposed he should’ve been expecting this to happen. He and Pepper had been separated for… he paused, thinking over the dates, and finally whistled softly. Had it really been four years? It must have been, since they’d broken up just under two years before Tony got Peter. No wonder Rhodey was nudging him about dating again.

He and Pepper had dated for about a year, but their relationship had never been designed to last. They worked well together, and they were good friends, but taking that extra step and dating had turned out to be a step too far. Their parting had been mutual, but that hadn’t meant it hurt any less. Now, Pepper was very happily dating Happy Hogan, who worked for Tony’s security team.

But for Tony, Peter had fallen into his lap and he’d been way too preoccupied with Peter to even _think_ about dating. That was one luxury Tony hadn’t been able to afford himself. Until now. He glanced in the mirror, examining himself with a critical eye. As a writer, he was stuck at a desk for long periods of time. But he wasn’t overweight. He had a bit of a belly, but the fact that he could get so caught up in writing that he didn’t eat for literal days helped with keeping his weight low. He didn’t think he looked _too_ terrible.

“Guess we’ll see what Steve thinks,” Tony muttered. He thought there might be a bit of a connection there, but it was hard to say. He and Pepper had come together so organically. It had been years since Tony had had to worry about asking out someone he didn’t know well. 

At least he’d been upfront about Peter, and Steve was well aware that Tony was a single dad. Peter would have to approve anyone that Tony dated. Tony slid on some flipflops and left his room, indulging in an idle daydream where everything went perfectly and Steve fell in love with Peter and Peter adored Steve in return. He could just see the two of them at the park together, playing on the swings.

“Tony? Tony!” Clint’s hand landed on his shoulder, stopping Tony in his tracks, as Clint added, “Dude, wake up. You almost walked face first into a door.”

“Uh, thanks,” Tony said, shaking off the daydream and realizing Clint was right.

Thor smirked at Tony and said, “What on earth could you have been thinking about?”

“I think the real question is _who_ ,” Bruce said, sounding way too amused for Tony’s tastes.

“Shut up. I’ll have you know I was working my way through a complicated plot point,” Tony said indignantly. It was a complete lie and, judging by the three skeptical faces looking at him, none of them were buying it.

“Out of curiosity, did that plot point have blond hair, blue eyes and a chest that rivals Thor’s?” Clint asked.

“Not at all,” Tony said. He tried to play it casual. “So, uh, you’ve seen Steve then?”

Bruce laughed. “Oh, Tony. You’ve got it bad.”

“Of course he does,” Natasha said, walking out of her room to join them. There was a moment of silence during which they all stared at her. She was wearing a very small, very form-fitting black bikini that set off her creamy skin perfectly. Tony couldn’t help running his eyes up and down her body, admiring her toned stomach, low-cut bikini bottoms, and ample cleavage.

“You look stunning, Natasha,” Thor said, recovering first.

She flashed him a pretty smile. “Thank you, Thor. Bruce, you’re drooling. Tony, weren’t you just talking about wanting to oogle Steve?” She walked over to Clint and slid her arm through his.

“I’m bisexual. Equal opportunity,” Tony said, while Bruce discretely wiped his mouth. “And you are beautiful.”

“I know,” Natasha said. “Come on. I want to swim!” She bounced a little on the balls of her feet, which made certain other parts of her bounce too, and Bruce started choking. Tony reached out to pat him gently on the back in silent support.

The five of them made their way down to the lake, which was only a two minute trek through the trees from the cabin. Steve was already there, and it was Tony’s turn to choke. Steve was _ripped_ , and every inch of it showed above the blue swim trunks that Steve was wearing. Tony openly stared as they walked over to join Steve, drinking in the frankly amazing sight. 

“You’re drooling,” Natasha whispered in Tony’s ear. There was a wicked smirk on her face. Tony scowled at her and turned away, though not before he hastily wiped his chin just in case he really was drooling.

“The water is a perfect temperature,” Steve said, smiling broadly. 

“You know what that means!” Clint said gleefully.

Natasha immediately began to back away. “Clint, no! Don’t you dare!”

“Clint yes!” Clint yelled, lunging towards her. He bent down and grabbed her around the waist, hoisting her up over his shoulder. Natasha let out a deafening shriek and began flailing her arms as he raced towards the water – though Tony had the sneaking suspicion that she wasn’t trying very hard to escape. He was pretty sure that Natasha could easily floor all of them with one hand tied behind her back.

Thor ran after them, and the three of them splashed into the river together. Natasha finally fought her way free and together, she and Thor dunked Clint beneath the water until he finally surfaced begging for mercy. Only then did Natasha nod her head at Thor and they reluctantly released Clint. Naturally, Clint instantly tackled her into the water. Then he must have done something, because Thor yelped and vanished beneath the waves.

“Like supervising children,” Bruce muttered, shaking his head. 

“Actually, I think Peter is better behaved than that,” Tony said after a thoughtful pause. Then again, last summer Peter had teamed up with Rhodey to push Tony into the pool. So maybe not.

“I’m glad they’re having fun,” Steve said, watching them all fondly.

Bruce looked between them, raised an eyebrow at Tony, and wandered down to the edge of the water. He didn’t look like he was intending on going in, but it was only a matter of time before Thor grabbed his wrist and yanked him in. Very shortly, it was Natasha and Bruce versus Clint and Thor in an epic water fight. Tony was just glad he was far enough back that he wasn’t being caught by the crossfire.

“Hard to believe we’re midway through the week,” he said to Steve. “I hate to leave, but part of me is getting anxious to go home and write.”

“Really?” Steve perked up. “I would love it if you guys actually something out of this week. I, uh, I don’t actually know much about running a writer’s retreat. I’m kind of flying by the seat of my pants.” He rubbed sheepishly at the back of his head.

“Yeah, we figured,” Tony said as kindly as possible.

“You did?” Steve’s eyes widened.

“Yeah. It was kind of obvious,” Tony said.

Steve sighed. “Damn.”

“But that doesn’t mean that coming here hasn’t been helpful,” Tony said hastily. “Talking to you helped me to figure out where I wanted to take my next book. And I think that Bruce feels better about writing kid’s books now that he’s talked to Clint. They were able to give each other some tips. Natasha’s gonna incorporate more male characters, and Thor’s… well.” Tony shrugged. “Thor is Thor. He seems pretty happy.”

“Thanks Tony,” Steve said quietly. “This week has helped me out too, believe it or not. I talked to Bucky for a while last night and I’ve decided to try writing another book.”

“That’s awesome,” Tony said, genuinely pleased. “What made you change your mind?”

Steve smiled at him. “You did. I thought a lot about what you said, and I realized that you were right. I don’t want to stop writing just because some people misinterpreted what I was trying to say. It’s more important to me to get my messages out there. If even one person hears it, that’s worth it.”

“That’s really great, Steve,” Tony said. “I can’t wait to read it.”

“Oh, well.” Steve ducked his head, blushing. “I haven’t written for a while. It might suck.”

“Don’t be silly. It’ll be great.” Tony hesitated for a moment, pulse quickening. In two more days, the retreat would be over and the six of them would go their separate ways. Though they all lived in or right around New York, it was unlikely their paths would ever cross again unless they actively took steps to make sure they saw each other again. He’d never had much in the way of writer friends… or a writer boyfriend.

“I hope so,” Steve said.

“I could… you know, read through the first draft if you want,” Tony blurted out. “Or… I dunno… help in any way you needed it.”

“Really?” Steve’s eyes lit up. “That would be amazing!”

“Sure. If you want to give me your number, we could meet up once we get back to New York. Grab coffee.” Tony tried his best to sound casual, even though his palms were sweating and his heart was pounding a mile a minute. He’d forgotten how nerve wracking this could be.

Steve was quiet for a long moment before he said, sounding breathless, “Are you… are you asking me out?”

“No! Yes. Maybe?” Tony said, uncertainty mounting with every word.

“Uh… which is it?” Steve said.

“Yes,” Tony said. “Yes, I am. I, Tony Stark, am asking you, Steve Rogers, out.” He watched Steve closely and, when Steve hesitated, hurried to add, “That offer comes with no strings. You can say no and I get it. I’ll still help with your book and everything. I just –”

“Yes,” Steve burst out. “I’d love to go out with you.”

Tony smiled in relief, all of his tension melting away. “Great. Here, put your number into my phone.” He took his phone out of the pocket of his trunks, unlocked it, and handed it over. Steve looked at the picture on the screen, which was of Tony and Peter acting silly together, and smiled. That was a good sign. 

“There you go,” Steve said, handing the phone back. 

“Thanks.” It probably would’ve been too silly to clutch his phone to his chest the way he wanted to. Tony forced himself to put it down on one of the towels Steve had set out. 

They stood in silence for a moment, just smiling at each other, and Tony realized he had no idea what to say next. Should he reiterate his offer to help with Steve’s book? Bring up the plot point about Riri and Peter he’d spent most of the night working on? Try to get Steve talking about his new book? The sun beat warmly down on the top of his head, and he could feel himself sweating.

“Wanna swim?” Steve asked awkwardly.

“Sure,” Tony said instantly, and it had nothing at all to do with the fact that Steve led the way down to the water and Tony got the chance to admire how great his ass looked in his suit.

The six of them swam and played around in the water for a while until they were tired. Bruce was the first to drag himself out of the water, followed by Tony and Natasha. Tony laid down between them on a towel, propped up on another towel, and watched Thor, Clint and Steve wrestling around. All that glistening skin was a sight for sore eyes. Natasha was equally fascinated. 

“Did you ask him out?” Bruce asked at last.

“Yup,” Tony said.

“He say yes?” Natasha asked.

“Yup.”

Bruce held up his right hand and Natasha held up her left. Tony high-fived them both.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr](https://tsuki-chibi.tumblr.com/).


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